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RESEARCH INTEGRITY AND RESEARCH COMPLIANCE TRAINING

Student in both Thesis and Non-thesis program are required to complete the Research
Integrity Training requirement. This can be fulfilled by taking GIS-501 "Research
Integrity," or the Annual Research Integrity Half-Day Workshop offered through the
Marine Sciences Department (contact that department for details). The choice of these
options is at the discretion of the student’s Research Advisor and Graduate Committee
for Thesis students or the student’s Research Advisor for Non-thesis students.

In addition to completing either the course or workshop described above, Research
Compliance Training is required. This is fulfilled by completing the RCR Collaborative
Institutional Training Initiative through the University of Miami as follows.

GRADUATE STUDENT COMMITTEE FOR THESIS OPTION

In most cases the Major Professor will function as Research Supervisor. Exceptions
include when students pursuing their degree in the BLY department are training in
a BMD lab, and when extenuating circumstances prevent the Major Professor from functioning
as Research Supervisor. Such alternate arrangements must be formally approved by the
department chairman.

The student and Major Professor shall request at least two additional regular or adjunct
faculty members, whose fields and interests are appropriate, to serve on the student's
advisory committee. These requests will be given to the Chair of the Biology Department,
who shall nominate the committee to be appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School.
No faculty member will be obliged to serve on a committee without their consent.

The duties of the Advisory Committee shall be as follows:

The Major Professor shall advise the student in the choice of a curriculum and research
problem; he/she shall direct the thesis and have authority over research techniques,
methods and procedures.

The committee members will aid in curriculum advisement and advise the Major Professor
in the research work leading to the thesis.

The student's curriculum will be considered and approved at a meeting of the committee
called by the Major Professor no later than the beginning of the student's second
semester in residence.

Periodic meetings of the committee will be called by the Major Professor to review
the student's academic progress and research.

The Major Professor and the committee may aid the student in writing the thesis in
accordance with the guidelines established by the graduate school.

A simple majority of the committee will be required to accept and approve the thesis
after an oral defense. Those accepting the thesis shall sign it.

Research and Program Supervision

Major Professor and Advisory Committee selection and Functions.

Selection of a Major Professor/Research Supervisor is a precondition for admission.
It is expected that the chosen Supervisor is properly trained to afford meaningful
oversight for the problem that the student has selected to offer as the thesis for
the graduate degree.

Before the end of the second semester of residence, each student is required to select
and have appointed an Advisory Committee, according to the guidelines established
by the Graduate School.

Should the Advisory Committee membership fall below the minimum requirements of the
Graduate School because of the departure of one or more of its members, it is the
responsibility of the Major Professor to take the steps necessary to rectify this
problem. The newly organized Committee should be constituted as soon as possible,
but no later than the end of the semester in which the problem arises. The Major
Professor will immediately advise the Departmental Chair of any and all changes in
the membership of the Advisory Committee so that the Chair may give official notification
to the Graduate School.

Should the Major Professor depart from the Committee, it becomes the responsibility
of the student to arrange for appointment of a replacement. The student must demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the Departmental Chair that the replacement supervisor is properly
qualified to direct the research problem. This must be accomplished no later than
the semester following the departure of the Research Supervisor.

Progress Monitoring

At least once a year the student must meet with the Advisory Committee to demonstrate
that satisfactory progress is being made in both research and course work development.

Although the Committee is involved with the student's work on a regular basis, this
meeting will also serve for Committee to have input into the student's training program.

Compliance

The student is advised that compliance with regulations is the student’s responsibility.
Failure to adhere to the requirement of the department or college can result in dismissal
from the degree program.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION FOR THESIS OPTION

After submission of the written research prospectus to the committee, students will
schedule a committee meeting and comprehensive qualifying exam. The exam will be oral
and will start with a presentation of the prospectus and, where applicable, a progress
report. Students will first be examined on the prospectus and progress report, and
then any area of study closely or broadly related to the student’s area of specialization.
The exam committee will consist of the student’s thesis committee, and will be approved
to administer the exam by the Graduate School. The paperwork for approval (Comprehensive
Examination Committee Appointment Request and Evaluation Report – GS Form #5) must
be submitted and approved at least two weeks before the exam date.

The student will be graded by all committee members, following a rubric that considers
various aspects of the presentation and has three possible scores for each category:
1 (insufficient), 2 (meets expectations), and 3 (above expectations). To pass the
exam, a student will have to score an average of 2 or higher. Students are encouraged
to examine the rubric before the exam to be aware of the committee’s expectations.

THESIS PREPARATION

DEFENSE OF THESIS and FINAL ORAL EXAM

The final oral examination prior to granting the master's degree shall consist of
a defense of the thesis conducted under the following rules:

The examination will begin with an open seminar. Following the seminar, the student
will defend their thesis orally before the thesis committee and other members of the
graduate faculty who may care to attend.

Attendance in person, or is special circumstances by videoconference, is mandatory
for members of the advisory committee. Each member will be informed at least two
weeks in advance of the time and place of the exam. Attendance is optional for other
faculty members.

With the advice of the faculty, the committee will vote on the performance of the
student. The examination will be passed by a simple majority vote of the committee.

Questions will be confined to the thesis and related topics.

Scoring Rubric Forms

TEACHING

All graduate students, both thesis and non-thesis, and regardless of funding status,
must teach at least two lab sessions (example: BLY 101, 102, 121, 122) during the
course of their graduate program. Teaching requirements must be satisfied in order
to graduate. Full-time students who are not paid through the departmental teaching
assistantship (TA) funds are required only to teach and grade two lab sessions over
the course of their program. They will not be required to prep labs and can teach
these labs at their convenience. Students with TA’s will, as part of their duties
for which they are being paid, have to prep labs, and have a teaching schedule according
to the needs of the department. If a student has had substantial teaching experience
prior to joining the department, this requirement may be waived at the discretion
of the Departmental Chair.

Part-time graduate students are also required to fulfill the teaching requirement
of two laboratories and an attempt will be made to compensate for their time. All
possible scheduling allowances will be made to accommodate part-time students. A
part-time graduate student may or may not be required to prep labs, depending on the
time slot the student is able to teach.

COURSE WORK

All students are required to take at least 30 hours of 500-level coursework.

For thesis-option students, these will include 18 hours BLY 500-level formal coursework
(not including BLY594). A maximum of 9 h of thesis (BLY599) and 6h of directed studies
(BLY594) will be allowed. However, the student’s graduate committee has the discretion
to increase these hours to remediate any deficiencies in the student’s background.

For non-thesis-option students, these will include at least 18 hours of BLY 500-level
formal coursework, a maximum of 6 hours of BLY 594 (directed studies). Remaining
graduate level coursework may be in other disciplines as determined by the students
advisory committee.

PAPER / PRESENTATIONS

All thesis-option graduate students must submit a paper for publication or present
a talk at a professional meeting before they graduate. A professional talk is a presentation
(or poster) given at a meeting held by a professional society.

FALL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

At the beginning of fall semester, an organizational meeting of graduate students
will be convened by the Graduate Program Committee of the faculty, during which the
students will elect a member to serve on the departmental Graduate Program Committee.
This student will attend meetings of the Committee.

SEMINAR ATTENDANCE

All graduate students are required to attend departmental seminars, unless excused
by their Major Professor.